Foodie’s Markets distinctive, diverse,
and delicious foods.
 approaching summer dining season. And, I have never (!) made pulled pork, so …….
The recipe requires a few logical steps: a spice rub for the pork, a ‘bed’ of sauteed vegetables to flavor the braising broth, Stout for the braising liquid, a long slow braise in the oven and then a couple of finishing steps. The cooled pork is shredded, excess fat is removed, and the braising liquid is cooled and defatted. It is then pureed in the blender to become the finishing (aka BBQ) sauce for the pulled pork. I made sandwiches using toasted brioche rolls and a red cabbage coleslaw to for crunch and contrast. And did I mention it? I used pitted prunes in the braise for sweetness and texture AND as a great counterpoint to the natural bitterness of the Stout. data-pin-do=)
Stout-Braised Pulled Pork Sandwich
January 6, 2018
I was asked to ‘create something BBQ’ to tease the (slowly) approaching summer dining season. And, I have never (!) made pulled pork, so …….
The recipe requires a few logical steps: a spice rub for the pork, a ‘bed’ of sauteed vegetables to flavor the braising broth, Stout for the braising liquid, a long slow braise in the oven and then a couple of finishing steps. The cooled pork is shredded, excess fat is removed, and the braising liquid is cooled and defatted. It is then pureed in the blender to become the finishing (aka BBQ) sauce for the pulled pork. I made sandwiches using toasted brioche rolls and a red cabbage coleslaw to for crunch and contrast. And did I mention it? I used pitted prunes in the braise for sweetness and texture AND as a great counterpoint to the natural bitterness of the Stout.
Ingredients
3 to 4-pound piece of boneless pork shoulder.
Spice Rub Ingredients
1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt
½ teaspoon ground ginger
½ teaspoon ground white or black pepper
½ teaspoon ground cumin
½ teaspoon chili powder
¼ teaspoon ground coriander seed
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon smoked paprika
-Whisk together all the ingredients in a small bowl and set aside.
Braising Ingredients
1 cup diced white onions
¾ cup sliced/dice, peeled carrots
¾ cup diced green and/or red bell pepper
4 medium cloves garlic, peeled and coarsely chopped
3-4 tablespoons olive oil, plus more as needed
1 Tablespoon tomato paste
2/3 cup pitted prunes, rinsed and cut in half
1/3rd small can ‘Chipotles in Adobo’
2 bay leaves
1 ½ -2 cans (16 ounces each Stout)
To Finish
6-8 brioche or regular hamburger buns
1-quart prepared coleslaw
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F.
Directions
Begin with prepping the pork butt, aka pork shoulder. Remove the pork from the packaging and pat it dry. If it is tied, untie it. With a sharp, pointed knife remove excess fat that can be seen on the surface. (Don’t worry, there is plenty of remaining fat within the piece of pork.)
Remove any sinews/tendons or small pieces of bone that you might feel. Rub the prepared spice rub all over the pork and let it rest. Overnight in the fridge is best, but not to worry, you can proceed with the recipe straight away.
Choose a braising or casserole pot that is deep enough to hold the pork and its braising liquid. Add the diced onions, carrots and green/red peppers to the pot. Add 2 or more tablespoons of olive oil and begin to ‘sweat’ over low heat, stirring often. Add a pinch of salt and cover the pan and cook until the vegetables have softened. Add the garlic and cook the garlic for 1-2 minutes. Add the tomato paste and cook for 1 minute. Add some of the canned chipotle peppers. They are very hot, I only added ¼ can, but certainly adding half of the can would be fine. I do NOT like HOT and am very judicious when adding
heat to my dishes. Remember you can always add more when blending the finished sauce. Add the prunes and the bay leaves. Add the spice-rubbed pork to the pot. (You don’t have to re-tie it AND I am invoking Christopher Kimball’s (Milk Street Kitchen) technique of not browning the meat—he states that it doesn’t improve the flavor with a long-submerged braise—and I agree.) Add enough Stout to cover the piece of pork about half way. Do not completely submerge
the pork. Stir the ingredients around the pork. Bring the pot to a simmer. Cover the pork and braising ingredients with both a piece of foil, pressed down onto the meat. AND then cover the pot with its own tightly- fitting cover. Braise for two hours and turn the meat over in the pot. Continue to cook for another hour
or longer until the meat is tender when pierced with the point of a sharp paring (narrow)knife.
When you are satisfied with the tenderness of the pork, remove it to a plate and let it cool at room temperature for 45-50 minutes or until it is cool enough to handle. Pour the braising juices and vegetables into a metal bowl and cool the bowl down in the sink in an ice bath. Remove the bay leaves and discard. Don’t stir. The fat will separate as it cools and collect on the surface. Add more ice to the ice bath as necessary. Meanwhile, when the pork is cool enough to handle, we are going to ‘shred’ it.
Shredding the pork.
Put the cooked and cool enough-to-handle pork on a cutting board and use your fingers to pull and tear the pork apart into shreds. (Using a pair of disposable gloves would be great for this task. It is always a great idea to have a box of disposable gloves in the kitchen. They are VERY useful!) Use your fingers to remove the pieces of fat and sinew that you encounter. Discard. (Shredding the meat while it is warm is much easier and gives far superior results than waiting until the meat is chilled. You would never properly get out all the fat.)
De-Fat the chilled braising juices.
Skim all the fat off the braising juices and discard. (Note: this step could be done the next day; that is, refrigerate the braising juices overnight and the fat will handily congeal on the surface making it very easy to remove. That being said, I don’t recommend chilling the pork until you have shredded it.
Finish the sauce.
Puree the defatted, chilled juices and vegetables in the blender and then mix some of it into the pulled pork. Gently mix to coat the meat. You will likely NOT need all the juices. Save the leftover sauce, refrigerated for a few days only or freeze for later use.)
To Finish. Re-heat the sauce and pulled pork if necessary. Toast the brioche or burger buns, face down on the cut surfaces. Pile on an ample portion of the warmed pork on one side of the bun. Add some coleslaw. Cover with the top bun. Eat over a plate…it’ll be juicy and unctuous.
Servings: 6-8 sandwiches
Prep time: 50-60 minutes
Cooling time: 50-60 minutes Cooking time: 2 ½ to 3 hours
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Stout-Braised Pulled Pork Sandwich
October 13, 2017
I was asked to ‘create something BBQ’ to tease the (slowly) approaching summer dining season. And, I have never (!) made pulled pork, so …….
The recipe requires a few logical steps: a spice rub for the pork, a ‘bed’ of sauteed vegetables to flavor the braising broth, Stout for the braising liquid, a long slow braise in the oven and then a couple of finishing steps. The cooled pork is shredded, excess fat is removed, and the braising liquid is cooled and defatted. It is then pureed in the blender to become the finishing (aka BBQ) sauce for the pulled pork. I made sandwiches using toasted brioche rolls and a red cabbage coleslaw to for crunch and contrast. And did I mention it? I used pitted prunes in the braise for sweetness and texture AND as a great counterpoint to the natural bitterness of the Stout.
Ingredients
3 to 4-pound piece of boneless pork shoulder.
Spice Rub Ingredients
1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt
½ teaspoon ground ginger
½ teaspoon ground white or black pepper
½ teaspoon ground cumin
½ teaspoon chili powder
¼ teaspoon ground coriander seed
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon smoked paprika
-Whisk together all the ingredients in a small bowl and set aside.
Braising Ingredients
1 cup diced white onions
¾ cup sliced/dice, peeled carrots
¾ cup diced green and/or red bell pepper
4 medium cloves garlic, peeled and coarsely chopped
3-4 tablespoons olive oil, plus more as needed
1 Tablespoon tomato paste
2/3 cup pitted prunes, rinsed and cut in half
1/3rd small can ‘Chipotles in Adobo’
2 bay leaves
1 ½ -2 cans (16 ounces each Stout)
To Finish
6-8 brioche or regular hamburger buns
1-quart prepared coleslaw
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F.
Directions
Begin with prepping the pork butt, aka pork shoulder. Remove the pork from the packaging and pat it dry. If it is tied, untie it. With a sharp, pointed knife remove excess fat that can be seen on the surface. (Don’t worry, there is plenty of remaining fat within the piece of pork.)
Remove any sinews/tendons or small pieces of bone that you might feel. Rub the prepared spice rub all over the pork and let it rest. Overnight in the fridge is best, but not to worry, you can proceed with the recipe straight away.
Choose a braising or casserole pot that is deep enough to hold the pork and its braising liquid. Add the diced onions, carrots and green/red peppers to the pot. Add 2 or more tablespoons of olive oil and begin to ‘sweat’ over low heat, stirring often. Add a pinch of salt and cover the pan and cook until the vegetables have softened. Add the garlic and cook the garlic for 1-2 minutes. Add the tomato paste and cook for 1 minute. Add some of the canned chipotle peppers. They are very hot, I only added ¼ can, but certainly adding half of the can would be fine. I do NOT like HOT and am very judicious when adding
heat to my dishes. Remember you can always add more when blending the finished sauce. Add the prunes and the bay leaves. Add the spice-rubbed pork to the pot. (You don’t have to re-tie it AND I am invoking Christopher Kimball’s (Milk Street Kitchen) technique of not browning the meat—he states that it doesn’t improve the flavor with a long-submerged braise—and I agree.) Add enough Stout to cover the piece of pork about half way. Do not completely submerge
the pork. Stir the ingredients around the pork. Bring the pot to a simmer. Cover the pork and braising ingredients with both a piece of foil, pressed down onto the meat. AND then cover the pot with its own tightly- fitting cover. Braise for two hours and turn the meat over in the pot. Continue to cook for another hour
or longer until the meat is tender when pierced with the point of a sharp paring (narrow)knife.
When you are satisfied with the tenderness of the pork, remove it to a plate and let it cool at room temperature for 45-50 minutes or until it is cool enough to handle. Pour the braising juices and vegetables into a metal bowl and cool the bowl down in the sink in an ice bath. Remove the bay leaves and discard. Don’t stir. The fat will separate as it cools and collect on the surface. Add more ice to the ice bath as necessary. Meanwhile, when the pork is cool enough to handle, we are going to ‘shred’ it.
Shredding the pork.
Put the cooked and cool enough-to-handle pork on a cutting board and use your fingers to pull and tear the pork apart into shreds. (Using a pair of disposable gloves would be great for this task. It is always a great idea to have a box of disposable gloves in the kitchen. They are VERY useful!) Use your fingers to remove the pieces of fat and sinew that you encounter. Discard. (Shredding the meat while it is warm is much easier and gives far superior results than waiting until the meat is chilled. You would never properly get out all the fat.)
De-Fat the chilled braising juices.
Skim all the fat off the braising juices and discard. (Note: this step could be done the next day; that is, refrigerate the braising juices overnight and the fat will handily congeal on the surface making it very easy to remove. That being said, I don’t recommend chilling the pork until you have shredded it.
Finish the sauce.
Puree the defatted, chilled juices and vegetables in the blender and then mix some of it into the pulled pork. Gently mix to coat the meat. You will likely NOT need all the juices. Save the leftover sauce, refrigerated for a few days only or freeze for later use.)
To Finish. Re-heat the sauce and pulled pork if necessary. Toast the brioche or burger buns, face down on the cut surfaces. Pile on an ample portion of the warmed pork on one side of the bun. Add some coleslaw. Cover with the top bun. Eat over a plate…it’ll be juicy and unctuous.
Servings: 6-8 sandwiches
Prep time: 50-60 minutes
Cooling time: 50-60 minutes Cooking time: 2 ½ to 3 hours